Two dates appear on different parts of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Escosse: 1636 on the west façade and 1659 on a carved stone slab in the south chapel. The church appears to have been built in the 17th century. The inscriptions provide concrete historical reference points for the building.
Churches, Chapels and Remembrance
Another architectural example is the burial chapel of the Subra family. This medium-sized neoclassical building very probably dates from the last quarter of the 19th century. It is rectangular and raised above brick-built burial vaults. A straight double staircase made of carved sandstone leads to the chapel. It has a triangular pediment; the cast-iron door is decorated with an openwork cross motif. Its form, building materials and door ornament give the building a clearly distinctive architectural profile.
At Escosse cemetery, funerary monuments, grave crosses and burial sites are made predominantly of limestone or sandstone. The Escosse war memorial was inaugurated on Sunday, 23 April 1922, at 2 p.m. The various places and buildings offer different ways to explore the village’s history: from inscriptions on the parish church to the design of the family chapel and the materials used for the burial sites.
Escosse’s first church stood in the 11th century at Saint-Arnier, northeast of the settlement. In 1074, it is mentioned as a former abbey where the graves of religious people were still present. You can distinguish Saint-Arnier as the earlier church site from the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which was probably built in the 17th century.
Landscape and Historic Village Setting
The Estrique valley divides Escosse from north to south. To the east, the hilly landscape is rugged; to the west are gentler slopes crossed by numerous streams. These run from southwest to northeast. The landscape areas thus differ both in their position relative to the valley and in their terrain and the direction of their watercourses.
According to the Napoleonic cadastral map, the historic village centre had a trapezoidal, fortified layout. The Tambouret stream ran along its western side; the church stood on the southern side of a large, open esplanade. The cardinal directions help locate the features of this historic setting: the stream west of the village centre and the church to the south of the square.
Getting Around and Dining
The D 626 and D 119 follow the watercourses; the D 110 connects Escosse village centre with Pamiers. This distinguishes the roads along the watercourses from the specifically mentioned route to Pamiers.
Chez Ginette is a bar and brasserie on Escosse’s church square, serving traditional regional cuisine. If you would like to dine there, check in advance whether it is currently open.
Discover more destinations: Tarascon-Sur-Ariège, Miglos, Castelnau-Durban, Les Cabannes, Couflens, Castex, Montgaillard, Mercenac
For the overview of the wider region: Ariège.
